Ohio Tool Plane

[Adam Gregory]

I bought this plane off of Craigslist this morning. A 22" Ohio Tool.... jointer? It's my first wooden plane. Any advice on bringing it up to working condition?

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The sole isn't precisely flat. What's the best way to fix that?
The handle isn't original or securely fixed in place in its slot, and it looks like maybe there was a knob at the front, where that plug is? Were the original handles not glued/screwed in place?


There's a crack by the mouth. Should that be repaired? Glued?

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I think the guy was just displaying it as an antique or something. The iron is VERY dull, and the wood smells of furniture polish. I assume some sort of wax would be a better finish for a wooden plane? I feel reasonably comfortable getting the iron back in shape - although it's a lot beefier than the iron in my only other plane, a Stanley jack plane.

Thanks in advance for any wisdom you guys can offer.

Edit: Any idea how old this is? I can't find a ton of info on Ohio Tool, but it sounds like they shut down around 1920?

[Sam Takeuchi]

I'd give up on that one. Everything can be improved except that crack. You can epoxy or hide glue (to avoid creeping) it together, but it's a part that needs to be rock solid in order to withstand the pressure from the plane's wedge, damage to that area can be a problematic.

Just for information, there was no knob. That button is called strike button, tap it with a hammer or mallet to retract the blade. It's supposed to be like that. That handle is a total garbage. Probably the original one broke or came loose and gone.

If in the future if you want to tune wooden planes, you can lap it using abrasive paper on flat surface, or if you have a functioning plane, ideally longer plane like jointer, you can flatten it by planing it flat.

[Adam Gregory]

Huh, I'm surprised to hear that. The crack gave me pause when he handed it to me, but I assumed it could be glued. Wood glue is so strong. I guess I'm underestimating the forces acting on that area. Oh well, it was cheap enough. Maybe I'll practice lapping the sole so I know what I'm doing when I find a plane worth using... The info about the strike button is interesting.

Thanks for the reply, Sam!

[Tyler A Anderson]

You now have nothing to lose but time and some epoxy. If it doesn't work, or keeps cracking, no real loss. Worst case scenario, you can take the blade and make your own plane with it.

[Christian Castillo]

Epoxy it and try to see if you can get it to work, you can true the sole with a 15" jack plane, larger preferable, if it has a reasonably flat sole, if you only have a smoother sized plane, you can use a straight edge with the smoother and get it nice and flat as well. If you have a large cut off of granite/glass/ 3/4" or thicker MDF, use a roll of psa sandpaper and you'll be fine too. If all else fails, you probably have a nice vintage plane blade, and you can probably get a few chisel handles of good old beech wood from the plane.